Page 27 of Gilded Crown

“And you better not forget!” Eurig poured the entire gravy tureen onto his plate and didn’t seem to notice that a good deal slopped all over the tablecloth.

More oozed into his lap, and Jari tried not to cringe. Dear Elira, if he grew insane enough, he’d probably be shitting his drawers at some point. And Aurelius had to sit next to that unpredictable man.

Eurig took a handful of mash and cornet beans to dump onto Aurelius’s plate. “Here, son. Beans are good for you.” He wiped his dirty hand on the tablecloth, and a few of the pink beans fell to the floor.

Aurelius grabbed his wine glass to do something with his hands. Jari better share his food later if the Prince wanted it.

***

Jari sat with Aurelius on his balcony that afternoon. “Since Gullveig knows, I wonder if he’ll try.”

“Zylem probably considers the crown to be his toy, but he might share to spare himself for a bit. He must need to get them alone for a bit.” Aurelius stared ahead. “The first servant never came home that night, and his wife didn’t see him until the next day. Zylem keeps them in his rooms, twists their mind, and then, he lets them loose.”

“Do you think he commands them to be the way he wants, and it just works?”

Aurelius tilted his head. “When I gilded people before, I simply willed it while I touched. I’m guessing this is the same.”

Like Jari using his fire. He simply had to will it, and fire wouldn’t come to his hands by accident. Aurelius wouldn’t accidentally shock someone with his lightning magic either. “Have you seen his slave lately?”

“Zylem doesn’t bring him out very often, but I saw him the day before you returned. His eyes were normal, and he didn’t seem any more miserable than usual.” Aurelius made a face.

Zylem probably kept his slave locked up in his own tiny room so he didn’t see anything and would never be able to tattle on his owner. Jari’s stomach turned over at the thought of having to suck off Zylem or bend over for him. “What did you feel when you wore the crown?”

“The urge to gild was much stronger. I wanted everything in the room to be gold. I didn’t feel anything else in particular.” Jari cocked his head, and Aurelius turned his face a little. “What?”

“Are you lying to me? You tried to make me think I was crazy and seeing things because your eye was gold.”

“I’m not lying, and I didn’t have any idea that I could turn someone into a mindless dolly to do my bidding,” Aurelius practically snarled, which made Jari doubt him even more. “If I’d known what I could do with the crown, don’t you think I would have already used it when I had the chance and ended all of this? Do you think I would have let myself be sent over the border?”

“Erm, okay. Sorry.”

“Eurig had the items for a while, and he had time before he grew worse to figure things out. He must have let something slip to Zylem at some point. Zylem is stupid in a way, and he’s impulsive and full of himself, but he’s not incapable of figuringout something especially if it’ll serve him. I wish Eurig had accidentally given me a hint.”

Jari stretched out his legs and gazed at a portion of the Palace that went in and came back out. The little side yard below that was surrounded by walls on three sides was empty. Adding new floors or wings to such a big building in a way that worked and still looked pleasing to the eye must have been complicated, although he couldn’t really appreciate it.

The Palace had been added onto because of greed.

“How do they fucking deal with your Father? He put food on your plate with his bare hands.” Dessert hadn’t been much better since the King made a servant cry and said the cake was too soft. It would have been fine to eat if he hadn’t kept dunking bites into his wine.

“What else can we do except deal with it? At least he didn’t touch the rolls or my cake.”

“He’s like an angry child.”

“Sometimes, elderly people start to lose it, and they kind of regress like a child, so I guess other types of insanity are the same. Soon, he’ll be wetting and shitting himself like Grandfather supposedly did. Now, you see why it’s a mercy to put him down?”

“Yes. Are you going to tell me what you’ll do once we know where the crown is? I mean, when you have a proper plan in your head?

“Yes.”

“I know this sounds morbid, but…”

“What?” Aurelius turned his head to look at Jari.

“It’s terrible.”

“Just tell me. I’m sure it won’t be shocking.”

“I don’t want you using your ability or the crown, but three people won’t be enough to drive you insane. Eurig’s already insane, so if he killed his younger two sons one night, andturned his blade on himself afterward, everyone would blame his insanity. They’d think you’re the lucky survivor, and of course, you’d be the only one left to take the throne. You’d finally be safe from them, and no one is going to suspect that you had a hand in it. I know that’s awful, but you could make it so Eurig does it quickly.”

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